College Football Old School Game of the Week: Wazzu Comes Back From 3 TDs Down to Stun #1 UCLA

 

Cougars quarterback Timm Rosenbach threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns in leading Washington State to an upset over #1 UCLA.

When it comes to the greatest moment in Washington State football history, many Wazzu fans will point to the Cougars' upset of #1 UCLA and quarterback Troy Aikman back on October 29, 1988.

The Cougars came into the game with a 4-3 record under second-year head coach Dennis Erickson, who had already won more games in the '88 season than he did in 1987 when he led Wazzu to a 3-7-1 record

Thanks to an explosive offense which featured quarterback Timm Rossenbach, who led the country in passing efficiency, and running back Steve Broussard, the leading rusher in the Pac-10, the Cougars jumped out to a 4-1 start as Wazzu averaged almost 41 points per game during that stretch.

But a porous defense that gave an average of 413 yards per game and an injury to Broussard lead the Cougars to a two-game losing streak to drop Wazzu to 4-3 as they prepared to travel down to Pasadena to take on the Bruins.

UCLA came into the game ranked #1 for the first time since 1967 as the Bruins stood with a 7-0 record under head coach Terry Donahue, who was in his 13th season as the UCLA head coach.

The Bruins were led by quarterback Troy Aikman, who was a Heisman Trophy candidate as he directed an offense which had averaged 40 points up to this point in the 1988 season while the defense was giving up an average of almost 15 points per game.

With the way UCLA was playing, plus the absence of Broussard who was out with an ankle injury, and the fact that the Cougars had not beaten the Bruins in Los Angeles in 30 years, Wazzu entered the game as 19-point underdogs as the two teams faced off in the Rose Bowl stadium.

The Cougars would get the ball at their 20-yard-line to start the game as Rosenbach came out firing as he completed passes of 23 yards to Doug Wellstandt, 18 yards to Tim Stallworth, and 11 yards to William Pellium to help set up a 48-yard field goal by Jason Hanson to give Wazzu a 3-0 lead.

Trailing for the first time all season, the Bruins would get a golden opportunity to erase the deficit when linebacker Chase Johnson recovered a Rosenbach fumble to give UCLA the ball at the Cougars' 40-yard-line.

Aikman would lead the Bruins to the Washington State 14-yard-line until an offensive pass interference penalty on tight end Randy Austin on a 3rd & 9 pushed UCLA back 15 yards and cost them a down, forcing the Bruins to settle for a 47-yard field goal by Alfredo Velasco which tied the game at 3 with 1:32 left in the first quarter.

Following a Washington State punt, the Bruins would get the ball at their 40-yard-line as they once again drove down the field, moving 56 yards in eight plays to set up a 3rd & goal situation, only to have running back Brian Brown be dropped for a two-yard loss, forcing the UCLA to settle for another Velasco field goal, this one from 23 yards out to put the Bruins on top 6-3 with 10:18 remaining in the second quarter.

The Bruins would force the Cougars to go three-and-out on their next possession to get the ball back at the Washington State 41-yard-line as Aikman completed passes of 13 yards to Mike Farr and 19 yards to Dave Keating to give UCLA a 1st & goal at the nine-yard-line.

From there, the Bruins kept it on the ground as Eric Ball ran for five yards, which was followed by a three-yard run by Aikman, and then an one-yard touchdown by Mark Estwick to increase the UCLA lead to 13-3 midway through the second quarter.

After another Washington State punt, the Bruins would put together their most impressive drive of the game thus far as they drove 87 yards in nine plays, culiminating with an one-yard touchdown pass from Aikman to running back Danny Thompson to push the UCLA lead to 20-3 with 2:15 left in the second quarter.

Hoping to get some points before the end of the first half, the Cougars were able to drive 42 yards in eight plays to give Hanson a shot at a 51-yard field goal.

Hanson would calmly make the kick with 50 seconds left before halftime to trim the UCLA lead to 20-6 as the Bruins ran out the clock to end the first half but set to get the ball to start the second half.

UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman completed 27 of 44 passes for 325 yards and threw one touchdown.

The Bruins would begin their opening possession of the second half at their 29-yard-line as Aikman completed a seven-yard pass to Austin which was followed by a four-yard run by Estwick to pick up a 1st down at the UCLA 40-yard-line.

Aikman would then hand the ball off to Ball, who ran for 14 yards for another 1st down at the Washington State 46-yard-line when Aikman went back to the air as he completed back-to-back passes to Reggie Moore for 20 yards to give the Bruins a 1st down at the 26-yard-line.

Ball would get the call again on the next play as he ran for 10 yards as he was hit out of bounds by Cougars free safety Artie Holmes, drawing a penalty that gave the Bruins a 1st & goal at the eight-yard line as Ball punched it in for the touchdown to end the seven-play, 71-yard drive and increase the UCLA lead to 27-6 just 2:35 into the third quarter.

With the game on the brink of getting out of hand, the Cougars would respond with a 10-play, 79-yard drive that was capped off with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Rosenbach to Stallworth to cut the UCLA lead to 27-13 with 8:30 left in the third quarter.

The Bruins would get the ball back at their 13-yard-line as Aikman hit tight end Charles Arbuckle for seven yards to start the drive, then handed it off to Ball, who ran for 17 yards until he fumbled the football when he was hit by Holmes, leading to a recovery by defensive end Marlin Brown at the UCLA 37-yard-line.

From there, Rosenbach would scramble for 11 yards, then again for 13 yards, before handing the ball off to Rich Swinton, who as filling in for Broussard, as the sophomore for seven yards, then again for the six-yard touchdown to make it an one-possession game at 27-20 with 6:45 to go in the third quarter.

Both teams would trade punts until the Cougars got the ball at their 16-yard-line as a Swinton three-yard run would set up 2nd & 7 when Rosenbach beat the UCLA blitz to fire a pass for Stallworth, who made the catch at the Washington State 35-yard-line, then outran the Bruin defenders to complete a shocking 81-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 27 with 12 seconds left in the third quarter.

Having seen their 21-point lead evaporate, the Bruins would turn to Aikman to stop the Cougars' run as UCLA had the ball at their 27-yard-line as the fourth quarter began.

That is when Aikman completed a 17-yard pass to Keating, then later a nine-yard pass to Arbuckle, and then a 18-yard pass to Moore to help lead UCLA to the Washington State 13-yard-line until back-to-back incomplete passes forced the Bruins to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Velasco to break the tie and give UCLA a 30-27 lead with 11:39 left in the game.

The Cougars would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line as two running plays to start the drive netted just one yard, only to have UCLA defensive tackle Mike Lodish be called for a 15-yard face mask penalty to give Wazzu a 1st down at its 36-yard-line.

Six straight running plays for 23 yards put Washington State at the UCLA 41-yard-line when Rosenbach scrambled for four yards when he was hit out of bounds by Bruins linebacker Carnell Lake drawing another 15-yard penalty on the Bruins and giving the Cougars a 1st down at the UCLA 22-yard-line.

From there, Swinton carried the ball three straight times for 17 yards before Rosenbach ran for four yards to give the Cougars a 1st & goal when Swinton punched it in from the one-yard-line to end the 13-play, 80-yard drive with a touchdown to give Wazzu a 34-30 lead with 6:21 to play.

The Cougars would get a great chance to increase their lead when Brian Brown fumbled the ensuing kickoff after a hit by Washington State defensive back John Diggs, leading to a recovery by Hanson at the UCLA 37-yard-line.

The Cougars would drive the ball to the Bruins' 19-yard-line until they brought on Hanson to attempt a 36-yard field goal to push the lead to seven points only to  Hanson's kick sailed wide left and no good to keep the score at 34-30 with 3:16 left in the game.

Cougars running back Rich Swinton ran for 117 yards on 27 carries and scored two touchdowns.

The Bruins would drive from their 20-yard-line to the Cougars' 45-yard-line as Aikman completed three passes for 29 yards and scrambled for six yards to set up a 2nd & 10 situation when Aikman was intercepted by Holmes to give Washington State the ball at its 33-yard-line with a chance to run out the remaining 1:59 in the game.

However, the Cougars could not pick up a 1st down and were forced to punt the ball back to the Bruins who would get the ball at the Washington State 39-yard-line after Daryl Henley returned the punt 31 yards with 44 seconds left.

That is when Aikman found Arbuckle across the middle for a 33-yard gain to give UCLA a 1st and goal at the Cougars' six-yard-line with four chances to get into the end zone and escape with the win.

Aikman would throw the pass out of bounds to stop the clock on 1st down, then try to go back to Arbuckle on 2nd down, only to have Holmes knock it down to make it incomplete and force 3rd down when Ron Lee batted down Aikman's pass intended for Maury Toy to set up a do or die 4th down.

That is when Aikman lofted a pass toward the right side of the end zone, trying to hit Keating, only to have Cougars cornerback Verrnon Todd break up the pass to force another incompletion and give the ball back to Washington State who took a knee to run out the clock to come away with the 34-30 win.

The loss would drop UCLA five spots to #6 in the polls as the Bruins would win their next two games to set a de facto Pac-10 Championship Game with arch rival USC, which they lost 31-22, giving the Trojans the Pac-10 title and trip to the Rose Bowl Game.

The Bruins would settle for a 17-3 win over Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl to finish the season with a 10-2 record and #6 final ranking in both polls as Aikman would be picked with the #1 overall pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1989 NFL draft.

As for the Cougars, the win over UCLA would be the turning point in their season as they won their final three regular season games to earn an invitation to play in the Aloha Bowl on Christmas Day.

The Cougars would defeat the Houston Cougars 24-22 to finish the season with a 9-3 record and a #16 ranking in the final AP and coaches polls.

However, the Cougars would lose Erickson as he accepted the University of Miami head coaching position where he would win two national championships in his six seasons with the Hurricanes.